A convoy of about 250 motorcycles of every make, model and year snaked its way along about 63 miles of scenic Levy County highways and back roads Saturday as part of the fifth annual Ride to Provide.

The ride, led by a patrol car from the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, started at Bronson High School and ended in Otter Creek on the campus of the Levy Association for Retarded Citizens. Members of the local law enforcement community organized the annual event, which helps fund LARC, in 2006.

Suwannee Valley Players' open their fall season on Friday with "The Night We Knocked the Critic Dead," a comedy by L. Don Swartz. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Additional performances will be Friday, Sept. 24, and Saturday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 26 at 2:30 p.m..

All shows will be at The Chief Theater at 25 Park Ave in Chiefland. Tickets can be purchased at the box office starting one hour before show time. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students.

With summer vacations now behind us and the biggest season of all just ahead – football season – it’s a good time to think about donating blood.

During the summer, when school is out and student numbers drop on university campuses, the blood supply takes an annual dip as well. Now, with students back and vacations over, donors are needed to rebuild the community blood supply.

Ask Bronson Volunteer Fire Department Captain Jerry Horton why the program he helped pioneer, the Levy County Fire Academy, is growing in popularity, and he’ll tell you it’s because of the quality of the instructors. “If it wasn’t for the instructors, it wouldn’t be what it is today,” he said Thursday. The program, given its official name this year, has steadily grown since it was started about five years ago and is being looked at by the Florida State Fire College, in Ocala, as a potential partner in providing more advanced t